The long wait for Bermuda’s public access to information law continues. The NYT has an interesting article on India’s popular freedom of information access law pointing out that it may not have made a big dent in corruption, but it has given a powerful tool to citizens to resolve their complaints. There is, however, a [...]
Entries from June 29th, 2010
Deja Vu
June 28th, 2010 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
Kim Swan commented today on Dr. Brown’s demands for special handling from Customs: One of the foundations of democracy is the rule of law for all, no exceptions. News the Premier has carved out a special exemption from Customs inspections of his mail runs counter to this vital principle and stands as one more example [...]
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DC After Our Shorts?
June 28th, 2010 · Comments Off · Business
Dr. Brown is hot on establishing tighter relations with Washington DC, even establishing a local office to keep an ear to the ground. Sooooo, presumably Government is up to speed on the following proposal, which is being floated by DC City Council Council chairman Vincent Gray and others. Namely, they propose that the US Congress [...]
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PAC Opens
June 28th, 2010 · Comments Off · Accountability, Bermuda Politics, Transparency
It was not long ago that an MP mistakenly referred to the Parliamentary “Public Accounts Committee” (or PAC) as the “Private Affairs Committee”. Times change, and the PAC has unanimously voted to open its meetings to the public. This is a very positive move. The PAC is currently chaired by the UBP’s Bob Richards. Other [...]
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Rudderless
June 25th, 2010 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
There’s a famous quote from investor Warren Buffet that says “You don’t know who’s swimming naked until the tide goes out.” Over the last decade, Bermuda rode the wave of global prosperity that masked all kinds of irresponsible or inadequate governance under the PLP. They doubled Government’s staff and expenditures, while rough handling many of [...]
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Throwing Weight Around
June 24th, 2010 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
I don’t appreciate it when Customs opens my mail and packages either. But I appreciate the need for them to do their job. In my opinion, the news reports regarding the Premier’s alleged comments to Customs officers describe an out of control ego and abuse of power: “He said: ‘I don’t appreciate Customs going through [...]
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You Should Be Ashamed of Yourselves
June 21st, 2010 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
More infantile race baiting in Parliament on Friday night from Derrick Burgess during the Motion to Adjourn: “Then you got Trevor Moniz over there asking what they did to George Scott. Come on, Trevor, you are the Portuguese consul and can’t speak a word of Portuguese — cut your nonsense out boy. As Trevor Moniz [...]
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Prosecute
June 18th, 2010 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
Lt. Col. Burch has been playing his loose cannon role con gusto this week, implying that Bermudians who are married to foreigners are somehow less Bermudian and then accusing the island’s legal community of incompetence and criminality. At this stage, I am in favour of removing the privilege that shields politicians against libel and slander, [...]
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Fair Elections II
June 17th, 2010 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
The Parliamentary Registrar estimates that 2,000 Bermudian voters are registered in the incorrect constituency. That’s about 5% of the electorate. That is alarming. Take a look at the stats from the last election. Despite the PLP propaganda of having a mandate to rule, the party only garnered 52% of the popular vote in the last [...]
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Someone Has to Make the Cut
June 16th, 2010 · Comments Off · Economy
It appears that the Opposition UBP and BDA are combined in their criticism of the PLP’s profligate spending with duelling editorials in the media. The PLP blog has responded with it’s usual hyperbole of: What Would the Opposition Cut? So, what would they really cut? They aren’t telling us. But, we know where their loyalties [...]
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